Warmachine-Hordes: 31 Flavors

Doing some quick math, I realized I have a total of 31 warcasters and warlocks spanning my four factions. With having fairly complete collections of Cygnar, Circle Orboros, and Thornfall, with my chosen select core of Highborn and Four Star Mercs, I have a LOT of stuff - too much to reasonably play, including many pieces I've either never fielded or haven't played in Mk2. So, in struggling constantly with deciding what to play, I struck upon another idea similar to my old thought on Random Casters. Instead, I'll begin with my first faction and play two games with every 'caster and then every 'lock in alphabetical order. If I like their tiers, I'll use those at least once. Otherwise, I'll play what I want with the chosen 'caster or 'lock. I've also decided that 50pts are my new standard - forget 35pts. Most importantly, I'll decide whether each 'caster or 'lock gets a green card or a red card based on these two games - green cards means they stay in longterm rotation, red card means they get shelved for the time being. Maybe I'll revisit them later, but I'm trying to identify my "go-to" armies and favorite combos to play.

I'm starting to remember how much I dislike gunlines, and how much I enjoy in-your-face assault armies. So I'll list all the 'casters I plan to use here, and then edit with results as I play them. Today, I got three games in... and lost all three, but had the most fun with Blaize. So here goes:

June 23, 2012
Major Marcus "Siege" Brisbane: The Big Guns Tier 4: Red
Major Marcus "Siege" Brisbane: Non-Tier: Red
Constance Blaize, Knight of the Prophet: Army of Light Tier 4: Green

I had fun with all three armies I played today, though the Siege lists left something to be desired. As gunlines, I played too far forward. Something to think about as I move forward. It was nice to play Trencher-heavy and run with some guns, but the axe-to-mouth nature of Blaize took the cake and ate it too! Sword Knights, Precursors, and the Centurion all performed amazingly well. This was the only game where my opponent was truly on the ropes and pulled a Hail Mary for the win. I'll continue this list as I go, until I come out with my core warcasters and warlocks that will help me make best use of the armies I have. For the record, here is my discussion on the Privateer forums on this topic.

June 30, 2012
Constance Blaize, Knight of the Prophet: Non-Tier: Green
Lieutenant Allister Caine: Non-Tier: Red - had another go-around; fun, but not amazingly so.

July 14, 2012
Lieutenant Allister Caine: Tier 4: Red - really fun, but problematic; lucky victory
Captain Allister Caine: Non-Tier: Green - total blast with lots of kill potential and answers for everything

Next Up
Captain E. Dominic Darius: Non-Tier: HERE COMES THE STORMWALL!
Captain E. Dominic Darius: Tier 4: Less bells & whistles; we'll see.
Captain Victoria Haley: Non-Tier: More Stormwall fun!

Malus' Marauders

Apparently, I'm always thinking. For those of you that know me, this should come as no surprise. The one thing I like to think about a lot is army ideas for my various factions. After talking to PG_bulldog about Warhammer Fantasy last night, I decided to give my Dark Elves some love, particularly Malus Darkblade. Typically, I feel the named characters for Dark Elves are substandard - too expensive for what they grant you - but I'm determined to have fun with this army and to hell with making things competitive. That said, I've used this as an excuse to gather a force of models I like, are non-Khainite to go with Malus' storyline, and will utilize the core build I've experimented with already. In keeping with my personal stories and fluff for House Sirfalas, I imagine Malus, on his journey to free himself of the Demon Tz'arkan, has come seeking the aid of Lady Enlil, who with the aid of her Daughter Iseilven and their Man-at-Arms, Dantalion, have taken to the field with Malus' forces in an attempt to push deeper into the Spiteful Peaks surrounding Tor Sír, seeking the mysteries of possession for Malus' freedom and the glory of the Farstriders of Ghrond.

"...so we can agree that we'd both like to avoid any... regal entanglements..." 

Malus' Marauders
2498/2500pts

Lords:

* Supreme Sorceress (Shadow) Level 4 (290pts)
        Seal of Ghrond
     
Heroes:

* Malus Darkblade, Scion of Hag Graef (275pts)
        Heavy Armor, Warpsword of Khaine, Spite, the Cold One

* Master (161pts)
        Battle Standard Bearer, Heavy Armor, Sea Dragon Cloak, Shield
        Sword of Might, Pendant of Khaeleth

* Sorceress (Dark Magic) Level 2 (150pts)
        Tome of Furion

Core:
* 30x Dark Elf Corsairs (350pts)
        Full CMD, Light Armor, Sea Dragon Cloak, Two Hand Weapons
        Sea Serpent Standard

* 10x Dark Elf Repeater Crossbowmen (100pts)
        Hand Weapon, Light Armor, Repeater Crossbow

* 10x Dark Elf Repeater Crossbowmen (100pts)
        Hand Weapon, Light Armor, Repeater Crossbow

* 29x Dark Elf Warriors (233pts)
        Full CMD, Light Armor, Spears, Shields
        Standard of Discipline

* 29x Dark Elf Warriors (243pts)
        Full CMD, Light Armor, Spears
        Banner of Murder

Special:
* 10x Cold One Knights (310pts)
        Full CMD, Heavy Armor, Lance, Shield

* 9x Cold One Knights (282pts)
        Musician, Standard Bearer, Heavy Armor, Lance, Shield
        Banner of Swiftness

Pretty slick lay-out. The Level 4 goes in the back with the crossbows, the Level 2 will park with the Discipline spears, the BSB with the other warrior unit, and Malus will hang with the nine-man Cold One unit. Not sure on strategies yet, but the Cold Ones can come in on the flanks, with the spears and Corsairs manipulating the middle ground. We'll see - I'll probably be WAY out numbered compared to my usual opponents Skaven or Vampire Counts. Either way, should be a blast! 

Contemplation Escalation

So, there's a local Escalation tourney in a couple of weeks. The format is pretty neat. Each round increases the pt value of the army, but your army from the prior round must be included. So once something is set in your army, it stays there. No Tiers allowed. Round One is 25pts, Round Two 35pts, Three is 50pts, and Four is 75pts. Round Five, if necessary, will be randomly determined. My only concern is timed turns, since I've never played even a single game under a clock. But we'll see if they're using them, and how much time I get, when I hear back from the TO. That said, I've been considering my Piggies for this one, since I know them best and they have a small, compact force that works in a fairly straight-forward way. I'm also considering my other factions, since there are elements of them all that I know well - except maybe Circle, since I seem to have to do WAY too much thinking when I play them. Oh, I almost forgot - the neatest part - at 75pts, you add a second warlock/warcaster and his/her battlegroup, in addition to whatever else you wanna throw in. So, here's my list and I've color-coded it with ever-increasing threat level colors (yellow for additions at 35, orange for 50, red for 75).

25-pt Core

Lord Carver (*6pts)
* Gun Boar (5pts)
* War Hog (8pts)
* War Hog (8pts)
Farrow Brigands (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Farrow Brigands (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)

35-pt Additions

* Targ (2pts)
Farrow Slaughterhousers (Leader and 5 Grunt) (6pts)
Saxon Orrik (2pts)

50-pt Additions

Farrow Slaughterhousers (Leader and 5 Grunt) (6pts)
Rorsh & Brine (9pts)

75-pt Additions

Dr. Arkadius (*6pts)
* Gun Boar (5pts)
* War Hog (8pts)
* War Hog (8pts)
Farrow Bone Grinders (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Farrow Brigands (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Gudrun the Wanderer (3pts)

So, that's a solid consideration and there's not much wiggle-room here when it comes to Farrow. Makes the decisions easier and I don't have to sweat the process of list building, etc. It has the added benefit of being stuff I own and having some nice paint on 15-pts of it. Haha, ok that's not a lot, but it's something. And for something completely different...

25-Core

Ashlynn d'Elyse (*6pts)

* Mangler (8pts)
Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters (Cylena and 9 Grunts) (10pts)
Greygore Boomhowler & Co. (Boomhowler and 9 Grunts) (9pts)
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt (4pts)

35-pt Additions

Horgenhold Forge Guard (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord (2pts)

50-pt Additions

Precursor Knights (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Precursor Knight Officer & Standard (2pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Harlan Versh (2pts)

75-pt Additions

Constance Blaize, Knights of the Prophet (*6pts)

* Gallant (9pts)
* Nomad (6pts)
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages (Leader and 5 Grunts) (6pts)
* Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officer (2pts)
* * Mule (8pts)

Thoughts? Which would you take? I'm leaning towards Pigs because there's something elegant and simple about the army and it's composition. But the Ash/Connie combo would be pretty fun and brutal. 

En Masse Orboros Constructs WIPs

So, I've pushed forward with my new scheme for my Baldur2 list. This time out, I've decided to paint all the unpainted constructs in my list at once - that's right a Woldwatcher, a Wold Guardian, Megalith, and the Fulcrum! All in one fell swoop!

Two things to point out - I'd like to thank PG_bulldog (of Muse on Minis and the Four Horsemen fame) for inspiring me to start painting my first 120mm based model. He paid me a terrific compliment when I complimented him on his painted Fulcrum. He said mine will look a lot better than his... if I just painted it. Compliment on my painting skills + shame for fielding primed models all the time = En Masse Orboros Constructs (TM)!

Second thing, I've deviated from my Wold scheme from 2008, stream-lining the process, adding in the trick my friend Ray told me about in my last post, and going for an overall brighter scheme. Here's the process I used for the stone work across all four models:

• Prime black
• Heavy dry brushing/almost wet brushing of VMC Black Grey
• Slightly drier brushing of P3 Ironhull Grey
• Even drier brushing of P3 Cryx Bane Highlight* 
• Even drier brushing, used to highlight, of Apple Barrel Country Grey**
• Wash entire model with a light layer of Badab Black***
• Touch up, zenith dry brushing with Apple Barrel Country Grey
• Final dry brushed layers for highlighting and glow with VGC Dead Flesh

*Careful readers will notice I skipped the P3 Cryx Bane Base. I felt the color variation was too subtle from the previous step and didn't add much to the process when I did it on my rock wall. 

**Yes, I used a craft paint. Sue me! I lost my P3 Trollblood Highlight somehow in my recent move. Can't find it anywhere. This craft color was purchased to match P3TH as closely as possible for terrain work. Did well!

***This layer helped reclaim any obscured detail in the runes. 

As I move forward, I'll follow the Forces of Hordes: Circle Orboros guide for painting the Fulcrum's wood and metal bits, though I'll adopt it to my own guides for painting woods on Wolds and metals on Morvahna and my Wolves of Orboros. Finally the gems and such will follow my usual color scheme of turquoise as seen on my first Woldwatcher from FOUR years ago... Wow, I'm a slacker! Incidentally, I love how much BRIGHTER these are then my old constructs. It's tempting to go and redo my old models. But no turning back; I keep pushing forward. Progress > obsessing. To me, these look charged up... glowing from within. And the turquoise gems and basing will tie them to the old models just fine.

Anyway, without further ado... some WIP pics...

Group shot! Click pics to enlarge!

The Woldwatcher. He's got the first layer done on his wood sections.

Guardian. Also with woods started; see there on the far arm! 

Meggy is defendin' that flower pot! 

First huge-based model to receive paint. I'm so proud! Also note, I had considered leaving the Druids off the Fulcrum for some time. I really wrestled back and forth with the idea, esp. since I somehow messed up the assembly and one Druid wouldn't fit on the base (the one rock spire in the right foreground in the above pic is too close to the Fulcrum to fit the Druid model - I was going to pin him on facing outward, but I like the idea that it's a self-energized model without mortal controllers - beyond my Warlock, of course). Also, seeing PG_bulldog's without the Druids sealed the deal for me. So I brown-stuffed over all the foot holes and pushed on.

So, I'll continue painting as I have time. Hopefully tonight. This represents about five hours of work, which seems pretty good to me. I'm happy with them so far, and think they'll only improve as I add more depth, detail, and color to them.

Tell me what you think!